Beware of Malicious propaganda

From time immemorial India has never been bereft of great men. For the last 45 years the effulgent spiritual wealth of India, Sant Sri Asaramji Bapu has been traveling across the length and breadth of India imparting spiritual knowledge to awaken the masses. His life is a source of inspiration to millions. Under His guidance, some 1300 Yoga Vedanta Seva Samitis have been established, 300 Ashrams and 17500 Bal Sanskar Kendras have sprung up. Besides this Gau-Seva centers, de-addiction campaigns, prisoner reformation programs, and many other programs to support tribal people by providing them food, clothes etc. free of charge, are carried out. The number of Bapuji’s disciples is in crores across national and international boundaries, and His listeners are in even greater number than his disciples. His main contribution has been the revival of the age old Guru Shishya parampara. It is no surprise therefore that some people are jealous of his achievements.

There is nothing new in mind slinging at great men. There is a rumor being spread that Bapuji was a bicycle mechanic in the past. These slanderers have no right to publish such falsehood. To set matters right, we will recount the real history of our beloved Asaramji Bapu. He was born in the Sind province (of undivided India) in a well to do family of Shri Thaumaliji Sirumalani on 17th April 1941. From early childhood, his eyes were sparkling and his countenance radiant. During the partition of India in 1947, the family migrated to settle in Ahemdabad. He attended school only up to the third standard, but he was inclined towards Yoga and spiritual practices. Later, he helped his brother in running the sugar wholesale business, but mentally he was engrossed in God. During his pilgrimage he visited Nal cave in Mt. Abu, Kedarnath, Haridwar, Vrindavan and finally ended in the jungles of Nainital where he concluded his travels at the feet of Leelashahji Maharaj. While living in Siddhpur, his spiritual siddhis attained through intense sadhana became known and he came to be recognized as a holy man. At the age of 22 in 1962 he attained God realization. At that time he was accompanying his Guru in Vajreshwari near Mumbai, and at the Guru’s command. He set out to deliver spiritual discourses to lead the mankind on the path to God, and teach them to lead a physically and mentally healthy life and show them the way to attain peace and liberation.

It is the ignorant and the deluded people who compare different saints. The comparison is usually in terms of number of Ashrams, and followers etc. To evaluate saints on the basis of their income, and to search for the sources of their income is utter foolishness. If you want to compare the properties of religious leaders, why don’t you take all religious into consideration? If the religious trusts do not have money, will their critics or the government provide them with money for their divine works and philanthropic activities? Those who are detached from the world and who feel the whole world as their own being – is it right to evaluate their worth on the basis of financial strength? Whenever God and saintly men have incarnated on this earth, their enlightening discourses have been faithfully penned down by their followers. In order to propagate the discourses delivered by Pujyashree, Rishi Prasad, Lok Kalyan Setu, cassettes and CD’s, along with spiritual literature are produced and made available at very low prices so that it reaches the common man. Contents are drawn from scriptures such as the Gita, Bhagwat, Vedas and Upanishads. Rishi Prasad and Lok Kalyan Setu are purely spiritual periodicals giving guidance on how to lead a happy, contented and respected life, and how to attain Self-realization. It is not a commercial enterprise, as no advertisements have a place in the magazine. No donations are collected for it. Is this not a service to mankind? Is it justifiable to call this divine work of Bapuji as his property and source of income, insulting the religious people of India?

In fact it is very difficult to establish moral values in society, but extremely easy to oppose others. May God give right understanding to the people, so that rather than talking nonsense, they may appreciate the divine works of the saint.

Whatever products are manufactured in the Ashram like incense sticks. Ayurvedic medicines and soaps, are made available to the devotees at rock bottom prices; they are not sold anywhere in the market place. The news papers and periodicals opposing Indian culture who are spreading such rumors are committing the ghastly sin of destroying the faith of sadhakas when they misuse the freedom of press to publish that such endeavors earn Bapuji billions of rupees. It should be stopped. The magazines publishing that festivals such as Gurupoonam and satsanga programs earn billions of rupees for Bapuji, is an insult to the ancient Guru Shishya Parampara and the great festival of Gurupoonam. Pujya Bapuji is freely distributing the spiritual treasure of India throughout the country. No fees have ever been levied to crores who participate in the spiritual intensives of imparting knowledge and Shaktipat. To calculate this holy man’s income is utter stupidity. In fact, the marketing western culture tries to evaluate every activity in financial terms. For them, the values and bases of Sanatan Sanskriti are insignificant, rather, they are bent on destroying it. Such tendencies will never be forgiven by the religious minded people of India.

On 3rd July at around 8:30 in the night, two Gurukul students absconded, and their fellow students commented that the two students said that their parents would come to pick them up as they had planned to go for sight seeing. One or two days before, they had claimed that they wanted to attend the Rathyatra (chariot procession). The Gurukul authorities conducted a preliminary search and it was confirmed that the two boys were missing. This confirmation came at 9:00 P.M., and immediately they informed the parents at 9:15. Instead of appreciating the promptness of the Gurukul authorities in communicating the event, they are being blamed. Due to their selfish interests they are misleading the Vaghela family and unnecessarily vilifying the Ashram, and they are also creating a gulf between the Saint and the public. This will weaken the society and nation. When the Vaghela family did not themselves encourage violence, who were the instigators of the outrageous oppression on the innocent devotees? It hurt the religious sentiments of millions of people. The conspirers do not realize what great damage they have done to humanity.

Many dramatic changes occur in the lives of great men. Thousands become their followers and then leave them as an effect of their karmas, but does it cause any harm to these great men? Bapuji also had many disciples in his ashram. Many of them left him due to a change in their understanding and it is common knowledge that some school children take admission and leave in-between. Some even leave during their college studies. Great men always for the good of all-never do they wish ill of anyone. Such people who come and then leave, fail to recognize the great men and in the end repent. After leaving them, they then accuse and slander them, but did the detractors of Lord Mahavir, Mahatma Buddha, Meerabai, Guru Nanak, Lord Rama and Lord Krishna find any place in history? Such people continue to transmigrate through the misery of thousands of births. Many people join offices, factories, ashrams, political parties and organizations in the world, and some are expelled or suspended. If such people bad mouth the parent organization, what credence should be given to them?

Whatever Bapuji has today, belongs to the various trusts. They are registered public trusts and detailed accounts are kept and audited. Proper land records are maintained and due process of law is adhered to. The trusts have the rights over property, thus it is erroneous to project on TV channels and media that Bapuji and his disciples have usurped the land.
Why is the patience of Bapuji’s followers being put to such an extreme test? Why are you continually testing their patience? What purpose will be served by evaluating the lands in Delhi, Amdavad, Surat, Pedmala and Panched and declaring it to be worth many crores or billions? In this country thousands of trusts are running thousands of ashrams, hospitals, schools, colleges, temples, mosques, churches and gurudwaras, thus serving the whole society. Then why should anyone object to the ashrams built by the endeavor of millions of sadhakas of Bapuji engaged in social service where millions get peace, fearlessness, shelter, and noble thoughts?

During the Amdavad Gurupoonam program, conspirators and anti-social elements combined to pelt the devotees with stones, bit them with sticks, misbehaved with ladies (and disrobed them in public) and burnt and destroyed their cars and vehicles. In these circumstances, can the devotees remain merely mute spectators? If the devotees stood up in self-defense at being pelted with stones, we do not think there was anything wrong in it. People defending themselves against those hooligans were labeled as hooligans themselves. Why did the media not condemn the oppressors of the sadhakas? Amongst the lacs of devotees, if some lost their temper amidst these unjust attacks, is it right to hold the ashram and Bapuji accountable for that? Actually spreading half-truths is harmful to the society.

Millions of people wait for hours to have just a glimpse of the compassionate Bapuji who wishes only the good of all. To project him as a horrible violent Tantrik and inventing cock and bull stories against him to defame him is a grave insult, not only to crores of Bapuji’s sadhakas across the country, but also to the Indian culture.

The ‘Gurubhaktiyoga’, written by Swami Sri Sivananda Saraswati, which sheds light on the Guru-disciple relationship and ‘Panchamrita’ are great books of Sanatana Sanskriti. They contain teachings from the Vedas and Upanishads. Those making useless comments against these sacred scriptures are only giving proof of their debased mentality. It is not right to degrade or write denigrating articles against any religious scripture. In a secular State like India, every citizen has the fundamental right to practise his own religion. Nobody can question the authenticity of the incontrovertible principles of the traditional Guru-disciple relationship in Sanatana culture (which has been in practice since time immemorial), bit some newspapers and TV channels have gone to the extent of questioning this tradition. To project these scriptures as books which misguide a sadhaka, is a grave insult to the Indian Culture. Isn’t the false media propaganda a conspiracy? It is contemptible indeed. Do not incur, or make society incur sin by making false allegations against the saints.

The more the slanderers carry on their false propaganda, the more does the number of satsangis and people who come for darshana increase.

‘The devotees cannot be misguided
by misleading propaganda
Once they step ahead they
cannot be forced to retract.’
- Shri Mahesh Gupta